Sunseap Group Chairman Mr Robert Yap Min Choy named first-ever Dean's Fellow at SMU School of Information Systems
February 4, 2020
Mr Robert Yap Min Choy, Chairman of the Board of Advisors at
Singapore Management University's (SMU) School of
Information Systems (SIS) and Chairman and Independent
Director of Sunseap Group, has been named Dean's Fellow of
Information Systems at SIS, the first time such an honour
has been bestowed in recognition of his significant
contributions.
Mr Yap will hold the position for a two-year period from 1
January 2020.
Mr Yap has chaired SIS' Advisory Board since its formation
in February 2006. Through the years, he has shown unwavering
support for the School in many ways, such as promoting its
education programmes to his business network, speaking at
the School's outreach events, linking the School to industry
partners and sponsors and endorsing the School's programme
proposals.
He was instrumental in securing the DFS Scholarships for SMU
during his tenure at DFS Group. The School has also
consulted him frequently on major decisions concerning its
development and education programmes. In addition, Mr Yap
served on SIS' External Academic Review Panel in 2015 and on
the SIS Dean Search Committee in 2016.
As SIS Dean's Fellow, Mr Yap will continue to provide the
School's faculty and students access to his mentorship,
knowledge and experience.
Mr Yap said: "It is a privilege and honour to be conferred
this distinguished title from SMU. I believe in empowering
the next generation of industry influencers and business
leaders, and helping them build a bright future through
education and industry partnership programmes in technology,
renewable energy, healthcare and ESG impact investments.
"I am passionate about sustainability and how we can play a
part toward fighting climate change. Like Sunseap Group
which is paving the way in renewable energy through
solarisation and has grown to become a leader in
sustainability in Singapore and across Asia, I hope to use
my industry knowledge and network to bring up a new wave of
influencers and leaders who are similarly passionate about
creating opportunities and new ventures in smart city
technology, renewable energy and environment sustainability.
Climate change is real and each of us can do our part to
reduce the global carbon footprint."
Professor Pang Hwee Hwa, Dean of SMU School of Information
Systems, said: "This is our inaugural conferment of a Dean's
Fellow and Robert is a clear choice. His support and
contributions as a business leader are vital for building
our educational programmes. Many students and faculty
members at SMU have benefitted from his leadership,
expertise and extensive business network. We look forward to
working even more closely with him in the coming years."
Mr Yap is a Singaporean business leader involved in several
councils and company boards, primarily in renewable energy,
healthcare, technology, maritime logistics and capital
markets. Before his retirement in 2014, he was the President
of DFS Venture Singapore and Group EVP for Global Business
Services at DFS Group. Prior to his stint at DFS, he was CEO
for East Asia at PSA International.
He joined Sunseap Group in 2015 as its Chairman and
Independent Director. Sunseap is Singapore's leading
sustainable solutions company with a portfolio of close to
two GigaWatt-peak (GWp) of pipeline and completed solar
projects in Singapore and around the region including
Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia and Australia. It is also a
thought leader in sustainable smart cities, having developed
and embarked on an array of hybrid clean energy and smart
city technology solutions, such as offsite power purchase
agreement and virtual power plants in Singapore.
In Singapore, it is installing more than 170,000 solar
panels on HDB blocks and other government buildings under
the SolarNova programme. It has also helped private sector
companies such as Apple and Microsoft with 100% renewable
energy through off-site arrangements, and is also building
one of the world's largest offshore floating solar farms
along the Strait of Johor.
Mr Yap is also the Chairman of Skylab Group and Charis-Sozo,
a family-led private foundation which assists charitable and
social impact projects. In addition, he is currently the
Independent Board Director of IMDA Singapore, Jurong Port
and advisor to Jubilee Partners investments. Mr Yap also
sits on IMDA's Investment Committee overseeing funds
management and capital market performance across diverse
asset classes. He was formerly a member of the IBM
Corporation Global Advisory Board based in New York, as well
as a Board Director of several SGX-listed companies such as
CWT and Frontline Technologies.
In his capacity as industry advisor, Mr Yap serves as Advisory Board Chairman to the Institute of Service Excellence at SMU, as well as Advisory Council member of University of New South Wales Singapore.